The 2025 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships descended on Lake Macquarie in ideal conditions, with warm weather and packed foreshores stretching from Marmong Point to Speers Point. More than 30 boats across four divisions contested six half-hour races over the weekend, producing a spectacle that lived up to every expectation.
At the sharp end of the field, the Supercat Extreme class featured 1000-horsepower catamarans capable of exceeding 200 km/h, while the Supercat Outboard and Supersports categories served up some of the tightest finishes the sport had seen in years.
Reigning world champions Darren Nicholson and Steve Jellick were simply in a class of their own aboard Boost Mobile #222, sweeping all three Supercat Extreme races without a blemish. Their fastest average lap of 2 minutes 28.8 seconds came in Race 3, and the combination of clean turns and relentless consistency set a standard the rest of the field could not approach. The final race told the story most emphatically, with Boost Mobile crossing the line nearly two minutes ahead of Venturi Offshore after 13 laps, a margin that reflected both raw power and exceptional precision.
Behind the champions, Mick and Jason Kelly in Hornet Racing #525 demonstrated solid reliability to bank two second-place finishes in Race 2 and Race 3. Venturi Offshore #5 recovered from early mechanical trouble to return to contention, while MOJO #15, the Kelly-Eustice partnership out of Port Adelaide, showed genuine pace before DNFs ended their challenge.
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In the Supercat Outboard division, Mike Ratcliffe and Karl Wall produced an equally dominant display aboard The Sting #S99, completing a clean hat-trick and leading every lap they finished. Race 2 provided the weekend's most gripping moment in the class, with The Sting edging Steve Lancaster and Scott Kelly in KESS Racing #801 by a mere nine seconds after 11 laps. Average lap times of around 2 minutes 49 seconds reflected both the close speed parity across the fleet and the skill of crews adapting to new twin-300 hp outboard configurations. Scott Richardson and Steve Kelly in TCR Offshore #161, along with Craig and Lachlan Dove in DLR Offshore #81, rounded out the order with reliable, retirement-free runs throughout the weekend.
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The Supersports 85 category played out more like a tactical exercise than a flat-out sprint. Race 1 produced the closest finish of the entire weekend, with Hary Bakkr and Steve Kelly in The Colonel #161 holding off Aaron and Jack Panozza in Skater 28 #7 by just two seconds. A single buoy turn gone wrong or one lifted throttle would have been enough to reverse the result. Penalties then became the dominant narrative: the Panozzas bounced back to take Race 2, while Mark Pecherzewski and Ian Tricker in TR Racing #4 won Race 3 despite absorbing a 60-second infraction. Anthony and Hunter McEnally in Watersports Marine #36 maintained consistent pressure throughout, never dropping outside the top four. With so many crews falling foul of the 85 mph speed cap, race officials were scarcely less busy than the competitors, and average lap times of around 3 minutes 15 seconds belied the chaos unfolding at every turn.
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The Supersports 65 fleet was wide open following Hary Bakkr's step up to the 85s, and it delivered accordingly. Patrick Bonici in Power Marine #72 read the 65 mph cap with the greatest precision, claiming all three victories despite time penalties along the way. Patrick Paczkowski in Valentus #13 recovered from a Race 1 disqualification to finish second in Race 3, while Cardiac Arrest #46 (Charlie Di Iorio and Greg Walters), The Con #80 (Brendan Weeks and Sophie Lancaster), and All Coast Marine #111 (Aaron Jackson) exchanged podium positions across the races. The combination of speed limiters and tight buoy layouts produced frantic, side-by-side racing, with the closest margin between first and second averaging just 31 seconds. Lap times across the class ranged from 3 minutes 45 seconds to 4 minutes, with those narrow gaps defining every podium result.
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Round 1 made a compelling case that Australian offshore powerboating has returned to full strength. After several years of rebuilding, the Australian Offshore Powerboat Club has assembled its most competitive fleet since the mid-2010s, and Lake Macquarie's surface rewarded the teams who paired smooth throttle work with precise boat setup. Boost Mobile and The Sting left nothing in doubt at the front, while the Supersports fleets reminded spectators why capped-speed racing continues to generate some of the sport's most compelling drama.
The championship now moves south, with Round 2 scheduled for Wyndham Harbour, Victoria, on 21 and 22 February 2026, before the series visits Geelong and Port Adelaide later in the season.
